Meian no Tsukene
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.
1. The Void Elemental

**Author's Notes**

Bad, bad muse. You'd think I've got enough stories on my plate as it is, then a new one won't leave me alone. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this new story.

The title means "Base of Light and Darkness". Now, it may not all show, but I've done a lot of research before writing this fic, and I've tried to develop the Japanese Wizarding culture slightly differently to the Western Style. You'll see the differences. One thing to note is that the spells are in Japanese much like the English spells come from Latin roots, but as my knowledge on Japanese is currently limited to an online dictionary, it's probably a bit of and certainly lacking grammar.

Now, to anyone who has read GeminiStar's Harry Potter and the Digimon Frontier, due to the fact that I've read it as well, there might wind up being some parallels, admittedly because it's a bit hard to go against previously attained knowledge, though I'm trying my best not to. Some things I can't really help though, seeing as though there isn't another logical way in context to make it work, such as the spells in Japanese. It doesn't make any sense (to me anyway) to have (most of) the spells in any other language, considering that Japanese Wizardry should originate from Japanese much like the English originates from Latin. I realised that when I looked up the roots of some of the spells. However, apart from that, the two stories are unrelated.

As for the elemental magic, somebody will explain it sooner or later. One thing about Japanese magic however is that it is heavily tied with emotion, which is why witches/wizards, especially those in training, have to meditate while attempting to use higher order magic such as the elemental magic. It is essentially built on the Godai principles in Japan, so the elements are:

_Chi_ – Earth

_Ka_ – Fire

_Fu_ – Wind

_Sui_ – Water

_Ku_ – Void/Heaven, which is the most powerful, thus all _ku_ elementals have a secondary element because their magic is so different compared to the other four elements

As for timing, this takes place in the holiday between Harry's fifth and sixth years, so that would be July seeing as Hogwarts opens on September 1, soon after Sirius' death and everybody knowing about Voldermort and what not. So hopefully you've read at least the first five books, though I'd think you'd still be able to follow what happens even if you haven't. In the frontier universe, it takes place about four years after the whole incident, so the twins and Izumi are sixteen, Junpei is seventeen, Takuya is fifteen and Tomoki is thirteen. In Japan, magical training begins in the year one turns thirteen, thus Tomoki is in his second year, Takuya, Izumi, and the twins are in their fourth year, and Junpei is in his fifth and final year. However, because their terms are longer, their five years of training is equivalent to England's seven year course.

By the way, this fic contains spoilers for book six, with a few (or maybe more) changes.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Digimon or Harry Potter (the series nor the character).

I think that's it for now. Sorry for the long author's note, and enjoy.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 1 – The Void Elemental**

'Even out your breathing. Close your eyes, and now focus on the magic which runs through your veins...'

Kimura Kouichi let the voice of his _Sensei_ echo unrestricted in his mind as he followed the instructions he had been given, letting his breathing level to a normal meditative pace, letting go of all stray thoughts while at the same time dropping the barriers which restricted his primary elemental magic. For a moment, he just let it free to run its course, his undivided attention on the trickle of magic which steadily grew into a stream as he expanded the perimeters from his own mind and reached out. His eye were closed, but the innate magic allowed him to see still, the _Sensei_ seated with his legs folded beneath him while carefully observing his student, the scrolls on the walls, looking to a non-magical to be nothing more than decoration, yet any wizard or witch could detect the charms that held the rice paper. Further still, he could sense the presence of his brother and friends, and those others who trained at the shrine, and the other elements, first of course, his secondary element, _Sui_, as after the _Ku_, it was the one he was most in tuned to, though to a lesser degree, he could sense the other three as well, the _ka, chi _and _fu._ And beyond that, auras illegibly mixed, with only pure evil distinguishable from all else...

His eyes flew open as a conditioned reflex, the calm, meditative pace lost in the panic that had suddenly struck and Occlumency barriers flying up on instinct, to meet the calm grey eyes of the elderly priest who ran the Shinto shrine, and who was one of those who trained those less experienced in magic. The shrines in which they trained, by far and in between to avoid affecting mundane technology, yet close enough to maintain a sort of magical web, were the home-ground of teenage wizards and witches who were currently in training, thus it was to be expected that those who ran them were some of the most experienced mages that Japan had to offer.

'What did you sense?' he asked the student calmly.

Kouichi took a few minutes to calm his breathing before replying. '_Kokon no Juusha_,' he responded softly.

His _Sensei_ frowned. 'How far do your abilities reach?'

The other shrugged a bit unsurely. 'Not past Honshu I think.' He then looked up, worry showing in the blue eyes partially hidden by his almost black bangs. 'Could some be near then?'

A grim look graced the other's face. 'It is probable,' he admitted. 'I have long since learned not to doubt the abilities of a _ku_, despite how rare it is. Why they are here, I cannot say however, though it would be advisable to remain cautious. I shall alert the others. Meanwhile Kimura-_kun_, join the other fourth years.'

'_Hai Sensei_.' The teen stood and bowed at the waist, before straightening up and passing through a door to his right, before his head snapped back suddenly as a flash of black swept past a window nearby, vanishing soon after without a trace, but with the definite feel of dark magic.

* * *

'Ah,' a masked man mused as the dark flame his wand had held flickered and went out. 'It seems as though our target has become aware of our presence.'

'It would appear so,' another agreed. 'Like a fly probing in the web fashioned for its capture, to be sure. Though I am curious to know why the Master is so interested in him.'

A chilling laugh echoed. 'Are you not familiar with the principles of Japanese magic?' the owner taunted. 'The void element is by far the strongest, and one who is in tune to both light and darkness is a great asset. Complete control over power like that would make it possible for the controller to control all aspects of life...and death. The blood traitors and the Muggles would be banished...the Dark Lord would govern all without ever a possibility of rebellion or interference. And the child in question is a void, the first in over fifty years, 'tis said. The means of such control, not to mention the disaster should the crack-pot of a headmaster discover him.'

He turned to the others. 'We are his inner circle,' he whispered menacingly. 'This knowledge is not to go elsewhere, or the Dark Lord will see to a fitting punishment by his own hand, understood? There are many unworthy who would desire such power, and few the Dark Lord is willing to trust the delivery to without rebellion.'

A certain trill of fear echoed over the ring at the prospect of punishment from their master, but silence was all that was required to dispel the possibility, thus they all agreed to it. Their faith in their master helped the fact; they were after all, Voldermort's inner circle, even though Voldermort himself did not trust them enough to let them go without binding them with the darkness he governed, the curse channeled through the Dark Mark they bore, much like the fail safe with those he entrusted with the Horcruxes which held the fragments of his soul.

* * *

'You are certain of this Severus?' Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore asked his most trusted spy.

'Indeed I am,' the head of Slytherin house responded. 'The Dark Lord himself informed Lucius and I of this.'

'I see.' He remained silent for a moment.

'Headmaster.' The addressed looked up. 'If I may, I suggest sending some of the Order to intercept the members of the inner circle sent. The Japanese may not be aware of this development, and thus may be caught unaware, though if the Dark Lord's information is correct, the boy in question may have detected their presence.'

'Perhaps,' the elderly man agreed. 'But is it wise to leave a sixteen year old to himself? Especially since our brothers in Japan are woefully ignorant to a majority of our kind of magic, and thus will find it difficult to counter.'

'It may be wise to bring him here for the year, along with a few others to avoid raising unwanted suspicion,' Severus Snape suggested. 'Perhaps under the guise of a transfer programme. Him being under you wing for a time would momentarily deter the Dark Lord from his mission; he is not so confident yet as to attempt to take down Hogwarts, though I fear-'

'He may soon?'

The other hesitated, before nodding shortly.

'There is more,' the headmaster observed, before quickly dispatching a message to those of the Order who were available, before exiting the Hog's head where the two were currently conversing. 'We shall talk more upon my return Severus.'

The other's head snapped up. 'You will go yourself?'

'Of course,' he replied with gaiety. 'This is something which requires my personal intervention.'

Then he twisted in the familiar motions of apparition and vanished with an audible crack.

* * *

Towards the end of their lessons, all students at the shrines had been alerted of the presence of Death Eaters, known to the Japanese as the _Kokon no Juusha_, the followers of the root of evil, on the island. Though the size of the island made it improbable that one would run into the horde, all were advised to be cautious, and permission had been granted for use of magic outside homes and the shrines should it be necessary.

This did, admittedly, illicit a sense of panic in some of the younger students, which needed to be quelled, but the elders were mostly calmer, and more curious as to the presence.

The six that had travelled to the digital world over four years ago left the Shrine together, Takuya volunteering to walk Izumi home while Junpei had been invited to stay with Tomoki while his parents were visiting relatives in Osaka. The twins were currently trying to work out an arrangement which allowed them to be together, which was unfortunately unsuccessful as both were expected at their respective houses. And though Kouji was visibly not pleased, it seemed as though the two would be journeying home alone that evening.

'Maybe I could ask _Otou-san_-'

'Kouji,' the elder twin cut him off. 'I'll be fine.'

'Yeah, but-'

'Hey, don't worry about it,' Takuya laughed, thumping his best friend on the back and effectively leaving Kouji with a broken statement for the second time in a row. 'You know Kouichi's good at sneaking past unnoticed.'

Both twins stared oddly at him. 'Should I take that as a compliment or an insult?' Kouichi asked.

The brunette shrugged. 'Both?' he offered, before ducking under his girlfriend's hand, making Junpei stifle a laugh.

'Geez,' he said good-naturedly, his own crush on the blonde having evaporated long since. 'Ever since you two started dating, you two bicker like an old married couple.'

The four laughed at the indignant looks on the faces of the couple, before splitting up and heading their separate ways.

Which was how thirty five minutes later, Kouichi found himself alone on the outskirts of Shinjuku wishing he had allowed his brother to attempt to convince their father to accompany the elder twin home.

Though he was sure their father, despite usually allowing the two to remain together, perhaps because of the harboured guilt for being unable to contact his ex-wife and eldest for nine years previously because of the Japanese divorce law, which was eventually overrun with the help of a well paid lawyer, Tomoko's chronic illness, Kouichi's fall and Kouji's change in attitude, would not have allowed due to the simple fact that his wife was going to go into labour any day now. Though, being overly concerned over his elder brother, Kouji had temporarily forgotten that little fact.

In any case, he was wishing for company, perhaps because he rarely engaged in magical combat, or any combat in that matter, that being the younger twin's area of expertise. Though Takuya had a point when he claimed the elder twin to be adept as concealment...

'Well, well, well,' a voice whispered suddenly, but seeing as though he had sensed their presence, or rather, the reek of their evil aura, moments before hand, despite the shield which restrained his _ku_, he remained in a relaxed position, prepared to slip away or fight should need be while at the same time appearing rather non-threatening. 'It appears our quarry has come to us.'

'Shall we play with him?' another voice, a female's this time, questioned, rather tauntingly, causing chills to run down the boy's spine. 'He would make interesting sport indeed.'

'As he would Bella,' agreed a third. 'But I'm afraid the Dark Lord has requested his presence, _unharmed._'

'Then I suppose you wouldn't mind a brief scuffle over him Lucius,' a fourth voice, highly amused, cut in. 'After all, it would be a shame to make his goal so easy on him.'

As soon as the words were finished, spells, vocal and silent, flew through the air. At the rapid-fire speed, Kouichi was unable to tell who was friend and who was foe, and caught in the crossfire, he could do little more than defend himself while searching for a means to escape. But with the spells flying sure, he could in no way escape without getting hit.

Though the occasional slip on the thin sheet of water left by the day's rain had given him an idea.

'_Shimizu, katameru!_' he whispered, leaning down and tapping the water with his wand. Ice spread from the tip, and within a few seconds, the ground had been covered in a thin, slippery sheet of ice.

'_Yami, shinobaseru!_' he murmured immediately afterwards, turning the concealing spell upon himself. And not a moment too soon, as those who had not slipped on their robes and entangled themselves or else lost their wand were looking for the source of the spell.

Concealed, Kouichi slipped between the scarcer spells, sliding across the ice and slipping under the fired spells till he reached a safe distance, where he calmed himself before going through the preparations of Japanese teleportation. In his mind, he envisioned his home, the scroll-decorated walls, the warm decor, his mother waiting...then he snapped his fingers in the familiar motion and vanished, leaving the two sides battling behind him, as the ice evaporated and the deadly spells flew once more.

* * *

**Post Author's Notes**

So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it?

Anyway, translations:

_Sensei_ – a respectful way to address a teacher

_-kun – _a suffix one normally uses to call a young boy (or sometimes a young girl with a boyish name) who they are close to, like a friend

_Kokon no Juusha_ – lit. Followers of the root of evil. My version of the Japanese name for Death Eaters. Though I was tempted for a while to call them 'eaters of death'.

_Otou-san – _father

_Shimizu, katameru!_ – Pure water, harden/freeze/fortify! (_sui_ elemental spell)

_Yami, shinobaseru!_ – Darkness, conceal/hide! (_ku_ elemental spell)


	2. The Headmaster of Hogwarts

**Author's Notes**

The Japanese classes have similar classes to the English, but some names and things vary: DADA is called Attack and Defence, Arithmancy is called Numerology, Care of Magical Creatures, while called the same, is mostly conducted out of textbooks and illusionary magic, Transfiguration is not offered, and Ancient Runes is taught in normal school, not the Shrine, and Kouichi is the only one to takes that class. And they don't take Muggle Studies either. Pretty unnecessary, as they live amongst Muggles anyway. They have Element Specific classes though, as well as Occlumency and Legilimency during first year, further for Void elements (currently only Kouichi).

Enjoy.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 2 – The Headmaster of Hogwarts**

Kimura Tomoko yelped slightly in surprise and whipped out her wand when the unmistakable signs of Japanese teleportation materialised in the parking lot of their apartment complex. To the non-magical (whom their brothers and sisters in the West dubbed Muggles), nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, but those with the potential to do magic, whether trained or not, could see the air shifting in order to accommodate the traveller.

She had just arrived home when she turned back and by chance noticed the change in atmosphere through the open door. The point of her wand, which was made of birch wood with a Tanuki hair core, was pointed directly at the disrupted ward, till she found another wand directly pointed at her, an ebony one, and then they were both stored away as she ran out to sweep her son into a hug.

'Really Kouichi,' she said in a scolding manner, releasing her sixteen year old son. 'What have I told you about using magic outside of class. You're underage.'

'I know 'kaa-san,' the other murmured. 'I just ran into a bit of trouble. _Kokon no Juusha_. But they were distracted by another group of people. They're still fighting.'

'I'm fine,' he added hurriedly, seeing as his mother was about to go into panic mode. 'Really,' he added, seeing the disbelieving look on Tomoko's face.

'I'll believe that once I've seen that with my own eyes,' the other stated, rolling her blue eyes. 'Hurry and come inside.'

'Hai 'kaa-san.'

* * *

'They're gone Albus,' Arthur Weasley sighed warily, once a survey of the surrounding area, accompanied by a _Homenum Revelio_ charm, revealed that only the members of the Order, and Fawkes, were present in the direct vicinity. 'Disapparited.'

'Indeed,' the old wizard mused. 'Well then, I suppose our next order of business would be to find their quarry.' He turned to the phoenix familiar on his arm. 'Fawkes, if you will.'

The majestic bird dipped his head slightly, then vanished in a flash of flame.

The Order members who had come along to assist Dumbledore, four in total but all able wizards and witches, flashed by the help of the Headmaster's familiar, spread out a little restlessly. The four included, naturally, the Headmaster himself, his deputy, Minerva McGonagall, and the Weasley adults, Molly and Arthur, the latter increasingly fascinated with Muggle Tokyo. Though several others dearly wanted to come, they were needed more urgently in Britan, so it was there they remained. It was already concerning enough that Albus himself had left, but as he explained to Severus, one couldn't expect a country to give up a student to another foreign one without some figure of authority.

Of course, Voldermort hadn't risked sending an army to Japan himself, especially as attacking a foreign country with large numbers would be counterproductive to his cause. Also, a smaller number was less likely to be detected, and they were easily chased away by the formidable presence of the Headmaster and Head of Gryfindoor house, even if their poor reception of the Weasley's in terms of blood portrayal and wealth surpassed their knowledge and/or fear of their skill.

As such, the spells, while destructive at first in an attempt to subdue both their opposition and their target, turned to more destructive and slippery means, truly representative of their Slytherin blood, and the group of Death Eaters had taken their leave, presumably to prepare for the long journey back to Britan, and the numerous stops along the way.

So now they were a little lost amidst the setting sun, as none of them could read or understand Japanese.

Though of course magic was at their disposal, although the flickering street lights above told them they would have to keep it to a minimum. After all, Muggle Japan was heavy with technology.

* * *

Unfortunately, Fawkes' search had yielded no results; apparently, the Void signature could only be traced when it was not in proximity with any other signatures. In other words, if he (as they were fairly certain they had glimpsed a boy) was within the vicinity of another witch or wizard, he could not be traced.

Which meant they would have to wait.

* * *

It turned out a burning spell had hit his shoulder, singing his shirt slightly as well as the skin under it. A dab of antiseptic, a bandage and a good night's sleep took care of it though; it was rather unwise, living in such a crowded state, to repeatedly use magic when things could be easily done by non-magical means, as if the entire Wizarding population of Tokyo decided to use magic to fix their daily problems, it would be highly unlikely that electronic appliances, ranging from more mundane things like a radio to detrimental medical equipment like those needed in life support, would be rendered useless. Considering the problems that would cause, coupled with the increased possibility of discovery, magic was restricted to a need-to-use basis.

Only he had slightly overslept and found himself late for school.

* * *

Dumbledore sent Fawkes out for another scout early that morning, and was mildly surprised to receive a fire flash ten minutes later, and rather inconveniently, through breakfast.

But as duty called, and the trace could be easily lost in such a densely populated place, they were forced to abandon their breakfast and disapparited on the spot.

They found themselves, with a faint popping sound, just outside of a slightly crowded Muggle street, with people scurrying around to go about their normal business. Late goes rushing to get to school on time, businessmen walking (or riding) calmly, public transport on every other corner, and some younger children crowding around.

Luckily, the four had taken the liberty of changing into socially acceptable clothing in case they had to leave on a moment's notice, and although the headmaster's beard looked _slightly_ out of place, it was mostly ignored. And also, very luckily, they had not apparited in full view, but rather into a dark alcove.

'I wonder where Fawkes got to,' Albus mused quietly, before the said phoenix appeared on his shoulder, invisible to those without magical prowess and thus quite safe.

However, they failed to notice the two boys staring at them, until they had almost vanished into the crowd.

* * *

'Kouichi! Hey Kouichi!'

Kouichi, hearing his name being shouted, stopped by a post and waited for a moment, to be rewarded by a panting Takuya.

'You're late?' He asked, surprised.

'Overslept,' the other replied.

'Well, we better get to school now,' the brunette groaned, spinning on his heel to run off again...before suddenly pausing. 'Wow, look at that beard.'

'Huh?' Slightly bemused, Kouichi followed the other's gaze. 'Probably a foreigner,' he suggested. 'Besides, we're late.'

'True.'

The two hurried away, and luckily managed to get off with a scolding after arriving halfway through homeroom.

* * *

After school, which happened to be a half day since it was Saturday, it was back to the Shrine, and the twins, joined once again with Takuya, were on their way, and consequently alone.

Kouichi had finally gotten around to informing the other two of yesterday's happenings, which caused both companions to raise their voices in a slight panic, before he managed to convince them that he had escaped with merely a slight burn.

They then moved on to the topic of their motives, as well as the mysterious interveners.

Until Kouichi, only half a mind on the ongoing discussion and the other half wondering, suddenly whipped out his wand and pointed it at the empty clearing.

'What are you doing?' Kouji asked, halting and watching his brother curiously.

'There's someone there,' the other muttered, slightly distracted, before whispering a spell: '_Shuuryou._'

Then four other wands were whipped out as a man (which two of the three recognised thanks to the beard) and woman suddenly became visible.

* * *

To say the two Professors were surprised when their disillusion charms were suddenly dispelled would be an understatement. Having difficulties in tracking by magical signature, the four had split up, with Fawkes once again on scout, hoping to find some sign of the magical population.

But as it were, they were as cautious as their Western counterparts, so visible, they could do little. Disillusioned though, they stood a chance of overhearing something, as even Legilimency seemed only effective on Muggles; anyone with knowledge of the Wizarding world seemed to feel the invasion in their minds and move out of range.

What they hadn't expected however was to be discovered themselves, and expecting danger, even from three schoolboys, they were ready for retaliation.

Which is why it came as a greater surprise when the one who had dispelled their charms suddenly retracted his wand, whispering something to the others and causing them to follow suit.

But before they could speak, the brunette spoke. 'Is there a reason you were spying on us?' he asked hotly.

'Rest assured that we were doing nothing of the sort,' the old man replied, replacing his own wand as his deputy followed suit while at the same time thankful that the translation charm, very difficult to master and even when done so, lasting for a maximum of 36 hours, was still in tact. 'We were simply looking for a Wizard dwelling. Albus Dumbledore, at your service.'

The three looked at each other, and the blue eyes twinkled as he saw the one who had spoken mouthing his name, in Japanese of course. They spoke together, too low to be overheard, before finally the brunette turned back and said: 'We're going to the shrine now, you might as well follow us.'

Then he turned and led the way, the other two waiting for their tag-alongs to follow before bringing up the rear.

* * *

'Kouichi, you really need to stop daydreaming,' the younger twin scolded, as they continued to make their way to the Shrine. 'Your Occlumency barriers are weakened when you're not focused. And you _know_ what will happen if they collapse entirely.'

'I know,' the other said tiredly, rubbing his temples. 'But I built them in a more complex formation than the standard barriers. Sensei showed me how, so that doesn't happen.'

'But with your power leeking out...'

'If I block it any more, my magic will be locked entirely, and that's worse.'

'True. But you still need to stop daydreaming. Or at least try to do less of it,' he amended, realising the first to be impossible.

'I do try,' the other mumbled. 'I didn't ask for this, you know.'

'I know _Ni-san_,' Kouji said, just as softly, letting the gate of the Shrine close behind them.

* * *

'You're the Headmaster?' Takuya spluttered, once the introductions, explanations and reprimanding (for being late) were out of the way, and the three, joined rather stubbornly by another three, one the same age, one older, and another younger, as well as the Priest that ran the shrine. 'Of _Hoguwatsu?_ Hogwarts? That's like one of the greatest Wizarding schools in the world!'

'I am pleased that you have such a high opinion of our school,' Dumbledore chuckled at the teen's enthusiasm, before readapting his serious demeanour with a slight cough by his deputy. 'Perhaps you all can help me.'

'Provided it is in our means,' Nakurama Masanori replied, bowing though he remained seated, being the head and thus the only one with the privilege to offer such service. 'We will be happy to aid you.'

'I thank you,' he replied formally. 'May we speak to you in private?'

'Of course.' The priest then turned to his students. 'Join your classes. Himi-_kun_, your class is in the eastward garden today.'

The six nodded and split up to their respective classes.

'Well,' the old man started, once they were alone. 'We received word that a Void element is currently targeted by the Death Eaters.'

'Death Eaters?' the other man asked, surprised.

'Voldermort's followrs,' he explained, ignoring Minerva's flinch.

'Here, we call them the _Kokon no Juusha_,' the priest said. 'I was afraid of this. Consequently, we did know they were on the island yesterday.'

'I take it that was what prompted the quick retaliation,' the Transfiguration teacher wondered. 'The child they managed to find was remarkably quick on the uptake. He might not have needed out intervention.'

Masanori frowned. 'The trace is impossible to hide once alone,' he said. 'And it is impossible for one to be constantly accompanied, even if he would agree to it. Life here just makes it impossible.'

'Well,' Albus inputted. 'Another teacher at Hogwarts suggested we take the boy under our wing for the year. Along with a few others to avoid suspicion. Within a magical school, he would be that much safer.'

'True,' the other mused. 'And safety is our primary concern. I highly doubt the Dark One would attempt to affiliate your school during your reign. Your doings are known to the Japanese Ministry.'

'Why thank you,' he said, flattered.

There was a slight pause, before the other Professor spoke again. 'I am curious to know,' she began. 'Why the three students that came across us lowered their wands. How did they know we were trustworthy? Especially since one disarmed our disillusion charms prior.'

The man smiled. 'They didn't. Only one of them knew, and I take it he was daydreaming if he did register your presence.'

Both failed to understand.

'The Void is an obscure field of magic,' the Priest explained. 'There hasn't been one for years, and this it is very difficult to teach when one does not know the scope. However, some powers of it are known, such as the ability to scurry for magical signatures, which is probably the simplest of them. Occulmency barriers are employed to block it, but when the mind wavers, well...'

Then, as the pieces began to click together, he got up and walked over to a room to the right. 'My apologies for the interruption,' he said to the apprentice taking the charms class. 'But may I speak with Kimura-_kun_?'

* * *

**Translations:**

_Shuuryou: _finish. Japanese form of the spell ___Finite Incantatem_

_Hoguwatsu: _Hogwarts


	3. Subject Selections

**Author's notes**

Interdimensional appiration takes a lot of energy, so very few wizards can do it. I suppose Dumbledore could, if anyone, so I've assumed he can.

Can anyone guess who the last void was? Hint: they're a canon character, and not from Digimon. And voids have a greater affinity to evil, so there is also a taboo against them in some circles, hence why it is kept secret. Also because power hungry maniacs wind up going after them too. Hence the plot.

Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 3 – Subject Selections**

The small offset room that served as an elemental classroom currently contained ten students, including the apprentice teaching: all the fourth year _Sui_ elemental wizards and witches of that particular shrine branch (which covered both the districts of Shibuya and Meguro), currently absorbed in what appeared to be a blank parchment each, which the apprentice currently taking the practical class carrying a candle charmed by a fellow _Ka_ and setting the parchments alight. So far, only one had failed to light, however when the candle was moved towards another, this one containing a homework assignment and ten centimetres away, it caught fire.

'Concentrate on the range for now,' Amaterasu Chika said, dousing the fire with her wand. 'Everything else is great.'

The black haired girl who received the praise blushed with pleasure as the apprentice moved onto to the next person, examining the parchment before bringing the candle to the edge. The paper caught fire, and she dropped it onto the other's desk...though surprisingly the paper continued to burn for two minutes and yet remained whole, nor was there any damage to the desk as the ring expanded by three metres radius, causing the entire class to abandon their own parchments and back away until they realised the fire was mere illusionary.

Chika attempted another _Shimizu, nagareru_, however this time it provided little results. Deliberating a little more, she deactivated the charm by retracting the fire and coaxing it back onto the candle, causing the flame to flare and waver before quelling to his normal size.

'Kimura-_kun_,' she began.

He looked at her. 'Hai _sempai_?' he asked.

'An excellent ward,' she commented. 'Seeing as it didn't burn down the classroom when it was covered in fire.'

He blushed.

'Though,' she continued. 'How will you explain to any outlookers how the fire failed to be extinguished by water, or to my knowledge, any magical means?'

He stuttered something, but was saved a full answer as the door opened and the priest peeked his head in.

'My apologies for the interruption,' he said. 'But may I speak with Kimura-_kun_?'

Chika nodded, chuckling at the still embarrased boy, and waved him off. Kouichi retrieved his parchment from the apprentice and slipped it carefully into his bookbag, before taking it in hand. 'Homework,' she reminded, as he bowed in a temporary farewell. 'Expand your ward to extinguish fire as well. And see how far you can expand the range before the ward fails.'

'Hai sempai,' he nodded, before slipping out the door and after the priest.

Chika ordered the remaining eight back to their seats, before setting the next parchment alight. After a few seconds, the rice paper was reduced to cinders.

* * *

Albus and Minerva were still seated once the priest returned with the student who had disarmed their disillusion charms in tow. Masanori was whispering an instruction to his pupil, who gaped a bit before nodding, and then they both sat across from the foreign wizards, legs folded beneath them.

The priest introduced his pupil, who bowed his head in a polite manner, though his mind seemed to be roaming elsewhere. After a moment, it became apparent where, as the more experienced of the two felt the faint probe of Legilimency in his mind, examining the surface barriers before withdrawing. The other felt the probe only when it pushed through her own, differing barriers with some effort, but before she could lock onto it, it withdrew, and the boy leaned slightly to his left to whisper something to his teacher.

The priest nodded, before turning to the foreign wizards. 'I apologize for that,' he said. 'But knowledge is very dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. We had to insure it would be safe with you, even from more...unconventional means.'

'So you asked your student to test our Occulumency barriers,' Albus nodded. 'I take it we passed.'

The boy nodded, but didn't say anything.

'Occlumency and Legilimency are studied by all pupils during the first year of their magical studies,' the Priest explained. 'But only Void elements further their study to ensure their power remains safely in their control. As a result, Voids are stronger in the field than any of the other four elements.'

He gestured to the pupil beside him. 'Voids are extremely rare, and he is the first for over fifty years, assuming the last was a real void and not simply a fraud. Records are extremely vague on that account.'

The two closely examined the boy, whose posture showed slight nervousness even as he kept still. There wasn't anything blaringly obvious about him, except the air of mysteriousness which somehow seemed to enclose him.

'We would like you to come back with us to Hogwarts,' Minerva explained. 'Death Eaters are after you, and here, your magical signature is too easily traced. At Hogwarts, with the number of students, you will be well disguised, and there is the added protection of the Order.'

'Order?' Kouichi asked softly.

'A group of people fighting against Voldermort,' Albus explained, ignoring his companion's flinch, especially as both Japanese student and teacher didn't seem as disturbed. 'We assure you the school is quite safe.'

He looked as his teacher, who nodded, before looking back at the other two. 'On my own?'

'Of course not dear boy,' the headmaster chucked. 'I gather that would be rather uncomfortable, not to mention blaringly obvious. We have decided to run a sort of transfer programme this year, so several more students will accompany you. We live how many and who in your Head's hands.'

The addressed nodded, thinking a moment, before stating his answer. 'Is six more sufficient? The other five that were with this boy,' here, he gestured Kouichi, before smiling kindly at him in continuing. 'And the younger brother of one. I doubt they'll let him go with anyone else, and certainly not without them. Especially Minamoto-_kun_.'

The two remembered the odd yet surprisingly tight group that had collected. A wide variety to be sure. 'Yes,' Albus nodded, bringing his forefingers together. 'That would perhaps be best.'

* * *

'This is going to be so neat!' Takuya exclaimed, after they had been given the rundown after classes and were now in a corner, circling a low table while the adults discussed other matters. 'No more normal school, and no restrictions on our magic!'

'Calm down Takuya,' Kouji growled. 'We have to get permission first.'

'Why are we selecting the subjects now?' Tomoki asked, looking over the papers in front. 'If we're not sure if we'll be going.'

'Because we'll be leaving tomorrow if we are, and they need these as soon as possible,' Kouichi answered, who had been the only one present when the deputy headmistress had explained. 'Our records need to be cross-checked from the Shrine, and if we don't select today, it will be too tedious doing cross-checking halfway across the country without risking interception.'

Shinya scanned over the fourth year subjects, the list (with explanations under each option) of which only Tomoki held an identical copy. 'Lets make sure we have as much subjects together as possible,' he said to the other. 'I'm definitely taking Care for Magical Creatures.'

'Same,' the ex-warrior of ice agreed, exploring his own list of electives. 'We'll also have to take at least one of Ancient Runes, Divination, Arithmancy or Muggle Studies.'

The two looked at each other. 'Neither of us took Runes at school, nor Numerology here. So I suppose its Divination, as Muggle Studies seems a bit redundant.'

'Right.'

They marked the choices, then watched the more complicated sixth and seventh year choices.

'I've got none of you,' Junpei groaned. 'I might as well make my list silently.'

And he pulled the list towards him and began slowly reading through the English.

The other four nodded, looking at their own lists, which were as long as the seventh years, and far longer than the fourth. 'Might as well go one by one,' Izumi sighed. 'Lets start with the first one. Potions?'

'No way,' Takuya groaned. 'I failed last year.'

She looked at the twins, who both nodded and marked it, the blonde following suit.

'Defence against the Dark Arts?'

'That's like Attack and Defence,' Kouji mused. 'I suppose we should all do that.'

'I almost failed the Attack unit,' Kouichi said sheepishly.

'And if I remember correctly, frustration saved you,' the other uncharacteristically snickered.

'Oh be quiet.' But he marked it anyway.

'Transfiguration?'

The four looked at each other, before all crying "Next" at the same time.

'Charms?'

Both Kouji and Takuya opted out of that one.

'Astronomy?'

Three shaking heads greeted her, causing her to pout. 'Guess just me then.'

Then she looked at Kouichi. 'Why not?'

He shrugged. 'I want to see the other subjects first.'

'Fair enough,' she agreed, before reading out the next one. 'History of Magic.'

She made a face immediately afterwards, and once again, Kouichi opted out. The other two however marked it.

'You barely passed,' Kouji commented, staring at the brunette.

'I got B in the last test,' the other retaliated.

'Herbology?' Izumi asked cutting their pending argument short.

Takuya nodded, but the twins seemed undecided. 'We'll leave it for now,' Kouji said, talking for both of them.

Izumi nodded, thinking about her own decision, but finally deciding against it. 'Okay, Arithmancy?'

She noted it down for herself, as did Kouichi. The other two however did not.

'Ancient Runes?'

Only Kouichi again, since the others lacked the background knowledge.

'Divination?'

Takuya opted out.

'Care of Magical Creatures?'

Kouichi opted out this time.

'Last one: Muggle Studies?'

Takuya agreed., and after a moment, so did Kouji.

'Why?' Izumi asked the brunette.

He shrugged. 'It'll be pretty easy for us.'

Kouji rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like: "lazy".

'Hey, you're taking it too!'

'Only because I don't want something as vague as some of those other subjects. Come on, Divination? You're probably going to bluff your way through the semester.'

'So what?'

Izumi ignored the two, turning to Kouichi. 'Astronomy? Herbology?'

He deliberated his paper, which now had six subjects marked off. If he took both subjects, that would bring a total of eight, which would be a tad difficult to manage as all were advanced classes. However, both were useful as extra knowledge in his other subjects, namely Herbology for Potions, and Astronomy for Divination.

In the end, he put them both down. If it became unmanageable, he could always drop out of one or the other, or both.

'You're taking eight subjects,' Takuya gaped, who was only taking five.

He shrugged, and the brunette let it be, rounding on Kouji instead. 'Taking Herbology?' he smirked. 'Not scared of poisen ivy, _ne_?'

Kouji ignored the jab, looking into his own list. Out of the twins, Kouichi was the most scholastic, and out of the group, he and Izumi. It wasn't that the younger twin wasn't smart, but his strengths lay in more solid subjects, rather than the theoretical and creativity aspects that darkness and wind were both adept in. Of course, being _Sui_, Kouichi had a heads up. And it appeared that Hogwarts offered very few precise subjects.

Herbology was however one, so he noted it down. It wouldn't be his first pick, but he imagined it would be better than Divination at least, or some of those other options. As for why he hadn't taken Runes in normal school...he had found physics more fascinating.

'So what have you got?' Takuya asked, peering at Junpei's paper as he set it down.

'Defence against Dark Arts, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, History of Magic and Muggle Studies,' the eldest read out in reply.

'You nearly failed charms,' Izumi said sceptically. 'Is that a good idea?'

'I didn't though,' he pointed out. 'And I'm not doing something inexact like Divination.'

That was one trait he shared with Kouji.

* * *

'We should alert the Weasleys,' Minerva reminded the Headmaster, as their discussion of more intricate details came to a close.

'Indeed,' he mused, twirling his wand, before casting a Patronus. A few muttered words, and the phoenix vanished from view, arriving at the Weasley's current location with a short message soon after.

He stood once that was done. 'I assume I can leave things in your capable hands Minerva?' he asked, blue eyes twinkling as though he already knew the outcome.

'Of course Headmaster,' she responded.

Smiling serenely, he turned to the priest, who bowed to him in farewell.

'I must be going now,' he said, bowing in reply. 'I have some matters that need attending to. Good day.'

Then with a soft pop, he vanished.

* * *

**Subjects chosen:**

Izumi – Potions, DADA, Charms, Astronomy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy (7)

Kouichi – Potions, DADA, Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divintion, Astronomy, Herbology (8)

Kouji – Potions, DADA, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology (6)

Takuya – DADA, History of Magic, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies (5)

Junpei – DADA, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies (6)

Tomoki – Core + Care of Magical Creatures + Divination

Shinya – Core + Care of Magical Creatures + Divination

I'm assuming average subject no. is six. Some people (like Takuya) take five, while some others, mostly people like Hermione or Ravenclaws, take more.

And if you can remember the timetable from the new book, you'd realise somebody is going to have a little problem with his subjects.

**Spell translations:**

_Shimizu, nagareru: _water, flow! Japanese version of Aguamenti. intensity of the flow is directed by intensity of the wand movement (and intention for higher grades or intense emotion)_  
_


	4. The HalfLife of Albus Dumbledore

**Author's Notes**

Sorry for the delay in the chapter. Needed to rekindle my Harry Potter knowledge. And then I went overseas; no internet access and my mum puts a one book rule on me. I wound up taking Bleak House. And then this chapter decided to give me a lot of problems in writing out. Hence why it's shorter than usual, though that's also due to the lack of conversation. I was actually tempted not to call it a chapter, but it does fit with the storyline so it wasn't exactly an interlude. So chapter it stayed.

By the way, Digimon frontier fans, this is a purely Harry Potter chapter. Or should I rephrase that and say it's a purely Albus Dumbledore chapter? Ah, whatever. The next chapter should be up soon enough; I wrote most of it struggling through this one.

And when I said Dumbledore hazarded a guess of how many horcruxes there were, and said six, I was including Harry and excluding Ravenclaw's Diadem. Remember, he said he only wanted Slughorn's memory to confirm the number, and he never mentioned the Diadem, saying instead that he assumed the last horcrux to be something that belonged to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

I know in the movie Dumbledore apparated to the Astronomy tower, but in the books it was always Hogsmade so I don't think Dumleldore in there was the exception to the rule. Since I'm following the book, we'll say he's not, 'kay?

On the note of crossovers, I've started another Digimon Frontier/Harry Potter crossover called The Light Beneath Darkness' Shades, if that's of any interest to anybody…

Enjoy, and tell me what you think. And you'll (hopefully) be happy to know that this fic will be updated more regularly this year, seeing as it was the clear winner….well, winner anyway. It wasn't quite as clear as last time.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 4 – The Half-Life of Albus Dumbledore  
**

When children, even teenagers, have somewhere they really need to be or something they really want to be doing, it occupies most of their attention. Adults aren't really any different, but sometimes there are more pressing issues. For example an innocent child in danger, but he seemed capable enough and was in capable hands, so he could return to the search for the Horcruxes. It was unfortunately a long and tedious task even for someone with his level of intelligence, but he had, after diligent work throughout the summer of consecutive year, punctured unfortunately of late by work of the order and the doings of one Lord Voldermort, managed to track down a certain Horcrux to the dilapidated ruins of what was once the Gaunt Shack. Even then, there were so many questions unanswered, questions that would hopefully be answered in the current school year with the help of one Horace Slughorn and Harry Potter…and of course Lord Voldermort himself.

But in the meantime, there was a piece (who knew yet how large or small a piece) of old Tom's soul lurking in an old family heirloom buried in that shack. It had taken years of nosing around (thank god his nose was abnormally large) to gain that scrap of information, ever since the diary had been handed to him just over three years ago and he had first suspected the levels Voldermort had gone to attain immortality.

With a quiet "pop", the headmaster of Hogwarts apparated into the outskirts of Little Hangleton.

The memories of Bob Odgen had certainly given the place more justice than was due. The tangled trunks still stood, proud and rotting. The symbolism, to be honest, was rather shocking, in a way depicting the last living descendent of the Gaunts. Living, but barely alive, held only by its rotten roots and the other trees, similarly decayed, holding it up.

Behind the horde of trees was a shack that had once stood proud and erect before descending into ruin. After Merope abandoned the house, it had inevitably crumbled into old timber and nails; she had been the one to maintain it after all. The thick layers of dust eventually corroded the foundations, and all it was now was a bunch of wood and metal…protected by magic.

Only the keen eye could see it, the thin shield that loomed over the dilapidated shack. The place that had some significance to the once Tom Riddle, the house of his mother and grandfather and the lineage of Salazaar Slytherin, reduced to poverty and ash.

Over the hill was the mansion of Tom Riddle senior, now following the little shack into desolation with no keeper of the grounds to tend it back to health, but Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore played the main house no heed. No…it was the shack that had drawn him to that particular Muggle community.

He considered for half a minute going into the pub in Little Hangleton, but after deliberating decided against it. He hoped to complete his task as quickly and quietly as possible, avoiding the attention of one Tom Riddle Junior…who preferred to be called as Lord Voldermort.

And typically, he had charmed the seemingly innocent shack with enough wards to keep a rampaging Lethifold out. Of course, that wasn't quite enough to stop the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And then, at last, the trophy. Buried in the foundation. Marvalo's ring, as large as life and certainly more magnificent than what he had seen in the Pensive.

The last mould covered wood was guided away by his wand, uncovering the artefact. The gold, unlike everything else, shone with a brilliance, a brilliance amplified by the murkiness of its surroundings. On it sat an ornament, a black stone, and on that stone, a marking that he hadn't noticed before. The ring reminded him of a past he wished he could remake or else bury, and for the most part succeeded in the second except for the bartender of the Hog's Head, the painting that hung on his second storey and the two graves in Godric's Hollow beside those of other peoples' loved ones and the extra crook in his nose.

But when the blue eyes behind the half-moon spectacles bent over the rotten and previously maggot-infested floorboards (he lit his wand, and they scurried like mad into the darker nooks and crannies of the shack), the triangle with a circle touching its edges and a straight line going from the tip of the vertex to the halfway point of the base, he remembered Arianna. He remembered his mother. He remembered the man rotting away at Nurmengard. He remembered the argument, the curses flying, his brother screaming and trashing in pain, his sister screeching – then the still sprawled body on the ground and the man he had once called a friend fleeing, leaving behind two broken pieces of a family.

That day had changed his life permanently. He'd given up searching for the Hallows; instead of staving death's hand, they had invited it. They should have known, from the tale of the three brothers. A children's story…but that was how it had all started. The elder wand, its might bringing with it a history of blood and deceit. The true cloak of invisibility, powerful enough to cloak its wearer even from Death itself. And the Resurrection Stone, right under his very (albeit broken) nose.

The hallow suddenly drove the thought of it being a Horcrux out of his mind. There it was! The Resurrection Stone. All of a sudden, he felt like a teenager again, a boy who'd just suffered the justice of his mistakes and had, finally, a chance to face it and plead for forgiveness, for his shame, his selfishness…

Before his mind quite knew what he was doing, his hand stretched out and picked up the ring. Years of dust and other nameless things fell away, smearing on his fingertips as he slipped it onto the tallest finger of his right hand. For a moment he held his breath, thinking about his sister and his mother, and even his father, dead after suffering the stay of Azkaban for revenging his only daughter in a world where human relations were the most twisted thing in existence…thinking he'd be about to apologize and make things right…

His blue eyes had already started shedding tears at the thought. Perhaps it was true. Once you stop looking, the thing sought after comes…

He had, of course, reckoned without the fact that the ring had been turned into a Horcrux. And Voldermort, trusting a portion of its soul to the little innocent and undeniably ugly looking ring and thus reinforcing it with one final nasty surprise.

It took a few seconds to process the pain that suddenly engulfed his mind.

It formed a haze; he was a powerful wizard to be sure, but it had been a long time, since the first Wizarding War, that he had to act as desperately as he did then. For a split second, everything flew out of his head…but he hadn't become one of the most accomplished Wizards of their time, discovered the twelve uses of dragon blood, attained a place as Chief Warlock on the Wizengmot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and sat as the Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for more than thirty years for nothing. His experience, and at 115 years of age his experience was quite a lot, amounted to quite an impressive amount, perhaps the only thing that guided his mind and his wand even as the rest of him thrashed in agony, blue robes smudging their colour with dirt and grime.

For the first few moments, the magic poured through him almost reflexively, like a child with no control and who reacted instinctively when their lives were in danger…and in danger it was. It took a great deal of grappling to collect himself; he looked a wreck. Serene blue eyes highlighted by black and grey on his face and through his once auburn hair, his robes discoloured beyond recognition; looking at it, one would assume the colour was originally a cross between black and grey, splashed with blue paint, the sort a child played with.

Something was still screaming in his mind; any prospect of seeing his dear loved ones, the consequence of his mistake and the grovelling for his forgiveness, was gone. Vanished. Crumbled like the dust and rot surrounding him…save all emotion, and the tears that ran, unbidden, down his cheeks. He guided his wand with more purpose, battling against the signature he knew too well as the boy who had once passed through his school, back when he had been a mere Transfiguration teacher and the other an orphan with unusual gifts. Perhaps it was that understanding, of a teacher watching a student pass through their hearth, or perhaps it was the slight disappointment that told him, through the echoes of pain and humiliation and shame and death; he had, above all else, failed to understand.

It had taken destroying his family to teach him that very same lesson.

The wand-tip wavered, the light it emitted spitting sparks. The pressure dulled enough for him to focus his original intention; he had come with the intent of finding and destroying a Horcrux. One of how many, he did not know, though he could hazard a guess of six, one unintentional.

He needed the sword. Gryffindor sword, sitting in its case in his office. Impregnated with basilisk venom. And Severus, who knew more about the Dark Arts than he had dared to learn. In Hogwarts. Both in Hogwarts. He needed to get back to Hogwarts.

Apparate? The Hog's Head…no, he didn't feel prepared for Aberforth's company, as rocky as it had been the past and continuously accumulating years. Certainly there was a level of trust between then, an exchange of information, but many a time he could lament it was as cordial as two associates forced to be civil towards each other due to a common friend balancing between. Not to mention the road; he felt more like an old man than ever, and he hadn't managed to halt the curse. Simply slow it, and dampen its effects. It wouldn't last long. At best he could make it to the Gate for the anti-apparition wards, but the trek to the castle-

He spun on the spot.

And then suddenly the three towers were looming, and the Gate with all its glory. And there was Fawkes, brilliant plume feathers shining in the afternoon sun, and he was fading, collapsing in his chair, and the sword was coming down onto the stone, leaving an ugly crack down its length.

The next thing he saw clearly was Severus, holding the blackened right hand in his left and muttering incantations over it, Fawkes trilling on his desk, the remnants of tears in his eyes.

The Potions Master on the other hand looked livid.

Albus simply slumped a little further into his chair like an old man.


	5. Permission Granted

**Author's Notes**

Seeing as Ron picked some Parseltongue off Harry, I'm assuming it's possible to learn it. Especially since it took him a few tries to get it right, indicating he can't be a natural Parselmouth. And on that note, Shredded skin of a boomslang is used in Polyjuice potion. Comes out of Snape's private stores.

A lot of pets in this chapter.

Okay, this is a little extra early, but as I said last chapter, I wrote most of this trying to sort that one out.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Permission Granted**

'My mother looked as though she was only too pleased to get us out of her hair,' Takuya said cheerfully the following afternoon after their classes at the shrine had finished.

'I don't blame her,' Kouji replied, smirking at his brother who shook his head in a semi-exasperated manner. 'Imagine the trouble two Takuya's would cause.'

'And you know full well Shinya isn't like Takuya,' Izumi interrupted the argument in progress.

'Yeah, so-hey!' Apparently, the elder Kanbara just noted his demotion. 'Sheesh Izumi. You're supposed to be on my side.'

'Did you have any trouble?' Junpei asked over them to the two members of their group not involved. Shinya was just staring between his brother and his brother's girlfriend. 'My father was just concerned about the fact that we're skipping out on Muggle school at such an important time, but Nakurama-_sensei_ said he'll deal with that.'

'I think we need to cover the material not covered in Hogwarts on our own,' Tomoki said. 'Shinya asked about that too.'

'So did I,' Kouichi admitted. 'Not strictly on our own. The shrine will send us material and deal with the correspondence on this end, and we can contact the tutors as well.'

'Which will be easy for you seeing as you are one and have the contact details for the others,' Junpei pointed out. 'But what about the rest of us? I mean, Tomoki and Shinya can just go to you-'

'-provided I remember-'

'I'm sure you can dig them up,' the _Chi_ grinned.

Kouichi shrugged. 'Just ask me for the contacts?'

A more sheepish grin. 'True that,' he said. 'But do we seriously have to speak English the whole time?'

Kouichi shrugged again. It hadn't occurred to him to ask, but then again, his English was almost as fluent as Izumi's, seeing as his mother had a Potions mastery and did international trade. It was unfortunately very difficult for her to get local customers. One problem caused a lot of difficulties.

'Anyway, did you guys have any trouble?'

Tomoki gave a half-shrug. 'You know how my parents are, but Ni-san helped out.'

'And you?' he turned to Kouichi

'Are you kidding?' the elder twin asked rhetorically. He three members of the Order of thehoenix remaining to chaperone the new transfers to the Burrow had stopped for dinner at the Kimura apartment in order to explain the full situation, seeing as Tomoko had evey right to know who had tried to attack her son.

'Oh, right.' Apparently, Junpei had forgotten. 'How was the dinner?'

'Awkward but alright.'

Tomoki giggled at the reply. 'But your mother let?'

Kouichi nodded. 'But there's the matter of Kyuukai, Archane, Hanone, Moya and Ankou.'

It took a minute for the other two to remember who was who.

'I don't think they'll be too thrilled about bringing a spider and a snake. But what about Hane?

'She can fly back and forth, and _'kaa-_san will need her, But, it's too inconvenient to leave the others at 'tousan's place. And you know how Doxy's multiply if you don't stop them.'

'But doesn't she need the venom?'

'I can send them with Hane.'

* * *

'Are we allowed to bring pets?' Izumi asked, stroking the wings of one of the Shrine's crows.

'Students may bring an owl or a cat or a toad,' Professor Mcgonagall replied. 'That is the normal rules, however I don't believe there should be a problem with crows.'

Crows functioned as the Japanese version of owls.

The twins exchanged glances before Kouji gave his brother a nudge.

'My mother's a potion maker,' he explained, wondering why they couldn't have discussed that the previous night where it would have been much simpler. Apparently the problem had never occurred to anyone. 'So aside from a cat, toad and crow, we also have a Doxy, an Acromantula and a Boomslang-eep!' he squeaked suddenly, stiffening. '_Don't do that_.'

Three shocked looks greeted him, seeing as they heard the last part as a mix of spluttering and spitting. It made more sense when an emerald green head poked its head out of the other's collar.

'The Boomslang,' Kouichi explained, blushing slightly. 'Hanone. Fang,' he added for the benefit of the non-Japanese. 'They're native and unique to Africa, but their skin and venom secretions are quite important in potion lore.'

'Y-you're a Parslemouth?' Molly stuttered, staring at the boy, then the snake.

'Good heavens,' Minerva muttered under her breath, before staring as the other shook his head.

'No, I just learnt the language,' Kouichi explained. 'Mum sprayed Moya, the Doxy, and Archane's scurrying all over her cage.'

'The older students get the honour of seeing a live Acromantula, even if we have to keep it magically small,' the Priest explained. 'Of course, so do the Kimura's and the other potion makers who have the luck of getting their hands on raw ingredients.'

'And your Ministry allows this?' The Transfiguration mistress looked a little baffled at all the poisonous creatures living practically fulltime in an everyday apartment building. Okay, the Doxy not so much. They were rather pest-like, even in Britain.

'Import of these sorts of materials is very difficult,' Masanori admitted. 'So they don't have much of a choice. But they get a person from the Regulation of Magical Creatures department to cast the wards and charms and do regular checkups. Of course,' He exchanged a glance with his pupil. 'It's a hazard to keep them with Tomoko-_san_ full-time so they tag along with Kouichi-_kun_.'

'How do you keep the Acromantula from growing to its full height without suppressing its venom excretion?'

'It's a space-time distortion,' Kouichi answered. 'But he can stay with Mum. The guy from the Ministry fixed that up, but it didn't work for the Doxys, because they're well…'

'They're pests,' Takuya grinned.

The Weasleys breathed a sigh of relief. 'Ron's mortally afraid of spiders,' Arthur chuckled, albeit a little weakly.

'And we've had enough of a Doxy infestation last year,' Molly added.

The Kanbara brothers looked interested.

'Actually,' Kouji pointed out. 'Because they're pests, they're easy to get. _Kaa-san_ just keeps an egg or two anyway, doesn't she?'

'Oh yeah.' From the tone, it sounded like an innocent mistake, but his brother knew better.

'Hanone always comes along with me though. Because it hibernates in cold climates, the space-time distortion won't work on it.'

'So you're asking us for permission to bring a snake along?' The Deputy-Headmistress summed up.

Kouichi nodded.

She frowned, wondering at how students will react to that. But there was always Hagrid, who kept far more dangerous creatures in the Forests and around and about his cabin, and the only major disaster was the Threstral…and the Acromantula over fifty years ago.

'Take it up with the Headmaster,' she said finally. 'But he may come temporarily.'

* * *

'Come here Hane,' Kouichi coaxed, reaching out to the red-eyed crow as Izumi simultaneously tried to coax down her black-eyed one. Kouji's, or rather, their families' was hopping about the ground and the younger twin decided it'd be easier to put him into his cage when he had a full stomach and so left him.

Hane, "wing", squawked and hopped onto his arm, nibbling at his ear lightly, before looking smugly at the snake that had been convinced into his travelling cage. Kyuukai purred as well, sitting atop the said cage, and Ankou…

'Where's your toad?' Takuya asked suddenly, giving up trying to convince Shinya to leave his orange furball behind. He could have gotten a break from being treated as a scratching post, but no. Shinya wouldn't hear of it. So Orange-top was staying (Kyo really, after the cat in Fruits Basket, but the elder Kanbara rather liked Arisa's nickname for him).

However, the absence of the dark-skinned toad caused the two youngsters to run around, calling him, some of the younger children who thought toads to be icky to shriek, and one boy to excitingly yell: 'he turned blue!'

Luckily, that was not Ankou.

'Can't we just summon him?' Izumi asked after a few minutes, giving Kouichi, who hadn't moved from his spot, an odd look.

'No need,' he said, walking over to a small pile of rocks and extracting the toad who croaked at being found. 'We're not playing hide and seek.'

This time, the croak came from being scolded.

'How did you manage to find him in all the toads out there?' Takuya had to ask, abandoning the cat as Shinya coaxed him into a travelling basket.

'I know him better,' Kouichi shrugged, knowing that wasn't a good explanation. However it was the best he could give.

Kuro finished his meal and croaked, giving Kouji the opportunity to stuff him in the cage. 'Oh, don't look at me like that,' he groaned, as the other gave him a doeful stare. 'I'm not having you fly to Britain right now.'

Izumi laughed, as did her own raven. 'He'll have to eventually.'

'True, but at least he'll know _where_ he's going.'

Kuro glared as Kyuukai pawed at the cage.

'She's just playing,' Kouichi said to the crow as he scooped up the black cat, strapping it into its basket. She gave him the same look as he tried to reach the boomslang curled under his clothes. In the end, Kouji had to help it out; apparently the body warmth was too much to part with.

But eventually they were all in their cages and night had fallen. After a few last minute instructions (stay out of trouble, remember to do your assignments for Hogwarts in _English_, keep up with your studies and no excuses for slacking off mostly), they were all ready to go.

'Good thing our parents aren't seeing us off,' Junpei commented, leaning on top of his suit-case. 'Would make a bit too much of a crowd.'

Their parents had said their farewells earlier that evening to give everyone time to pack…and to not startle the non-magical ones too much. Of course, the twins' parents and Takuya's could have, but they decided it wouldn't be expressively fair. Tomoko would drop by later to pick up the Acromantula though. However, the first years studying Care for Magical Creatures that day couldn't resist seeing an actual Phoenix, and so the priest had relented. It was a rare opportunity after all.

How much they actually managed to see was a mystery though. After all, Fawkes flashed to life to be almost immediately crowded, then as a strong hand gripped his plume feathers, vanished again, taking three adults, seven children and quite a bit of luggage to the living room of the Burrow.


	6. Welcome to the Burrow

**Author's Notes**

I think I realised last Wednesday I wasn't going to meet my own deadline. Mind you, I would have if it hadn't been for an appointment getting rescheduled into a day that not only had lectures and tutes I'd need to catch up on afterwards but also in the middle of eight days containing ten tests, one being close to six hours long. Hence why I only managed to finish the chapter after Monday once I got the last test out of the way. Normally it's not that insane. It just so happened that everything wound up being at once.

Hopefully won't happen too often. At the moment I'll be updating this or The Light Beneath Darkness' Shades every Thursday unless more unforseen events arise…in which sense all I can do is apologize and sit tight, not being particularly responsible. Once The Light Beneath Darkness' Shades is done…we'll see. But I hope to finish this by the end of the year.

My French accent is a little different to Rowling's I think. I don't know all that much French. Maybe a month in total under my belt.

That being said, this mixes in with chapters 3 to whatever of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I haven't read it in a while, so I don't remember which chapter he arrives at the Burrow in. I'm guessing its somewhere between chapter 5 and 7.

More interaction between the British and Japanese wizards in the next chapter. And more detail. This one was just about settling everyone in.

Anyway, enough about all that. Enjoy.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Welcome to the Burrow**

'Oh wow! This place is so neat!'

'What the bloody hell?'

'Would you not stand on the rest of us?'

'_Squawk_!'

It was utter pandemonium at the borrow when Fawkes suddenly flashed into existence…along with his parents, seven complete strangers and the strangest assortment of animals he had seen collected in a single place.

And considering he'd spent the last five years at Hogwarts, that was really saying something.

So Ronald Weasley gawked at the crowd as Fawkes, a little disgruntled and apparently missing a few features from his plume tail, vanished with a flash of flame and the Weasleys, a little more adept than their guests, stood and brushed themselves off before pulling out their wands, and in a single sweeping motion, moving all the extra baggage neatly upstairs so the seven teens could get to their feet.

'Ron,' Molly greeted, looking a tad frazzled as she surveyed her living room…which was still in rather good condition, if a little crowded. 'Where's your sister and Hermione?'

'They're outside in the garden with Crookshanks,' the red-head replied, still blinking at the new –comers…one of who was talking in utter gibberish.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, the long black haired male turned and whacked him upside the head.

'We're in Britain,' he said in perfectly articulate English, although rather accented. 'Speak in English _baka_.' That last word made no sense though.

'Kouji,' the one who looked mostly like him scolded, poking him in the ribs, before hiding a grin as the brunette continued to babble on.

'Huh-_nani?_' he asked, finally processing the command. 'What?'

'Speak English,' the remaining four chorused.

'Oh…right.' His voice was far more accented thanthe female, or the two black-haired males for that matter. In fact, it was possible to lump them into categories based on their hair colours and the degree of accent they presented. The black haired pair were slightly heavier than the blonde who showed very little accent at all, and the brunettes were the most pronounced. In fact, the pair of black haired males resembled Cho Chang in their speech.

'Are you Chinese?' Ron blinked, wondering how in the world they had wound up in his living room.

That was greeted by a variety of results.

'Ronald Weasley,' his mother scolded.

'Japanese,' one of the brunettes said.

'Can't western people tell the difference?' The longer haired male again, and the one next to him (presumably his brother) poked him again.

The second tallest brunette went off on a stream of…probably Japanese, till the younger boy beside him poked him too.

'English _Ni-san_,' he pointed out.

'You're not speaking English,' Takuya pointed out.

'Am too.'

'Are not.'

They went on for a bit after that, reverting back into Japanese somewhere in the middle until the blonde yelled at them…in something that sounded neither Japanese or English.

'That doesn't mean you start speaking Italian,' the eldest of the males pointed out, as the two (another pair of brothers presumably) opened their mouths again, he interrupted: 'That's enough.'

Their ears dropped slightly, by which time the two adults had navigated the luggage away (with Arthur Weasley following them upstairs) and turned a deaf ear to the conversation. After all, they had raised enough children of their own to not intervene in every sibling fight…and no doubt it was hard to remember not to speak your native tongue.

'Right,' Molly said finally. 'Izumi was it?'

'Yes ma'am,' the blonde replied as the woman pointed to her. The pronunciation as actually spot on, but perhaps it was because her name was one of the easier ones to pronounce in Japanese. She wondered how they'd fair with Tomoki's or Junpei's. The twins' names were rather common after all, and Takuya and Shinya's were pronounced the same way they were spelt phonetically.

'Right,' Mrs Weasley said, relieved. It was a confidence booster getting one name right when learning a new group's. 'You'll be sharing with Ginny and Hermione, my youngest daughter and my youngest son's friend.' She pointed to Ron as she said this. 'I'll put up another cot in there. Now you boys…' She thought for a moment. 'Ron, Harry will be sharing with you as usual. Three of you can fit into Fred and George's room…that's empty now, and three into-' She broke off with a bit of a sob as the name of her estranged son almost slipped from her lips. 'Charlie's room. That's a tad smaller.'

Because of the arrival of Fleur into the household, Charlie, when he visited, had been relocated. After all, he couldn't well sleep in the same room as his brother's fiancé.

'We can-' several voices started at once, before being cut off by Molly again.

'Nonsense dears,' she said affectionately.'The rooms are collecting dust anyway.'

And they all seemed like sweet children too. _And_ it would be good for them to get to know some students before Hogwarts opened.

'Oww, is somezing zee matter?'

A silvery head poked into the room, carrying a dust-mop.

'Not at all Fleur.' Mrs Weasley's tone had turned into something a tad clipped.'Just sorting out some sleeping arrangements.' Then she caught sight of the mop. 'There was no need to do that.'

'It eez my pleazzure,' the, apparently French (as the accent was rather unmistakable) replied serenely, retreating.

'My eldest son's fiancé,' Molly explained, before looking at her son's baffled expression. 'Oh right, I've forgotten the introductions. This,' she put an arm around her son, eliciting a "gerrof me". 'Is my youngest son, Ronald.'

'Ron please,' Ron said, giving a wave…that caused some degree of confusion in the crowd and some more harried whispers in Japanese.

It was Izumi, the only one who didn't originally originate from Japan, who sorted that out. 'They don't bow for every little thing here,' she hissed.

'So are we supposed to still or not?' Tomoki blinked, confused.

There was some more confusion.

'I don't think so,' Kouichi spoke up eventually. 'There's no reason why we should lay down our customs simply because we are no longer in Japan.'

'Even if we are speaking English?' Takuya asked.

'We're not speaking English now,' Junpei pointed out. 'There's no reason why we can't speak Japanese to each other.'

'Umm…guys?' Sometimes, when those six started talking, Shinya felt a little disjointed. 'The introductions.'

There were varying assortments of "oh, yeah."

'I'm Kanbara-' Takuya started, before being hit on the head by Kouji again.

'English,' he snapped.

'How do I say a name any other way?' The brunette was generally confused.

'Given name first, then surname,' the blonde explained, in English so as not to baffle their spectators further. 'In Japan it's surname first, and then given name.'

'Oh…umm…Takuya Kanbara. Love soccer, baseball, Quidditch-' He went on for a bit, instantly earning Ron's friendship by the Quidditch comment, until Kouji whacked him for the third time that day.

'Give the rest of us a chance,' he muttered, before saying nothing as silence began to persist.

Izumi muttered something in Italian, before smiling brightly. 'Izumi Orimoto,' she said. 'And these are Tomoki Himi, Junpei Shibayama, Shinya Kanbara…that's Takuya's little brother, Kouji Minamoto, our resident grouch-' She ignored the indignation. 'And Kouichi, his slightly older twin brother.'

'Do you have to rub that in?' Kouji grumbled, not to happy that the blonde had not only stolen his spotlight, but given him the short end of the wishbone.

It took a few more repetitions to sort everyone out and get the pronunciations close to proper. Then the girls came in and the introductions started all over again.

Crookshanks got along quite well with Kyuukai and the assortment of ravens though, so that was a relief.

And the remaining boys (and Hermione) had needed to drag Takuya, Izumi, Ron and Ginny away from their Quidditch conversation.

* * *

'So, how are we going to do the room arrangements?' Junpei wondered, inspecting their stuff which had been all put into the slightly larger room (they had been warned that the place was slightly bogey trapped with experiments).

'Me, you and Kouji in this room, and Takuya, Shinya and Tomoki in the other,' Kouichi, who had been quietly thinking about it, replied.

'How'd you figure?'

It was Kouji who answered.

'So Takuya doesn't keep us awake with his snoring. We all know Tomoki can sleep through an earthquake, and Shinya's been sleeping with the _baka_ for as many years as he's been alive.'

'I do not snore,' Takuya said, affronted.

'You do too,' Shinya shot back.

Somehow, it escalated into a pillow fight…which the three who had claimed the bigger room (figuring the smaller ones would be better off in the smaller room…and the slightly larger number of pets had to be considered as well; it was Izumi's raven bound to Japan carrying news of their arrival) shoved down the hall to the…well, much neater bedroom, all things considered.

And then Junpei stifled a yawn. 'Well, I'm hitting the hay.'

Kouji looked at his brother, who was sorting through their things.

'Do that in the morning,' he said. 'All we need are our pyjamas and toiletries.'

'No potion tonight,' Kouichi explained, finally extracting his charms homework (or rather, Advanced Charms and Wards, a _Sui_ specific class not to be confused with the Charms he'll be taking at Hogwarts). Some of their tutors expected them to keep up to date with correspondence…namely almost all their element specific classes, except Advanced Duelling which was a purely practical class and largely eclipsed with DADA.

'Well…goodnight then. Don't tire yourself out.'

'Yes _Mum_,' the other teased.

Kouj tossed a pillow at him before levitating it back. He couldn't be bothered walking the extra distance.

* * *

He was about halfway through mapping out a rune sequence that might succeed in acting as a _selective_ alarm wired to ill-intent (his last attempt had been set off every few minutes by Kyuukai) when there was a knock on the door. The Japanese thought for a moment it was Mr Weasley, but a glance at the clock (he noted Mrs Weasley was doing the same) told him still to be at "Moral Peril".

'It's nothing to worry about,' she had said when Takuya had questioned the anomaly. 'It's always like that, since…You-know-who's return and all.'

That had led to a rather lengthy discussion about the varying titles, both English and Japanese (though only Hermione from the British seemed to follow the latter) and even French as Fleur added her two-cents in. The root of the matter was that "Mortal Peril" wasn't a particularly accurate descriptive term.

But the fact that it was still there said that their visitor was not, in fact, Mr Weasley.

Tonks pushed aside her mug, fingering her wand under the table while stifling a yawn as Mrs Weasley held her own and stood on the inside of the door. Kouichi already had his own wand out, having been spelling himself a little extra light to work on his parchment, and simply negated the spell.

'Who is it?' Molly asked with a slightly quavery voice.

'It is I,' said a low, gravelly one, sounding a little like the Priest he was so used to, and much more like the voice that matched the name…although it was a little different seeing as the spell (beyond any of them) had translated his speech to Japanese for them. 'Dumbledore, bringing Harry.'

He thought Harry wasn't supposed to arrive till the next morning. The boy was apparently another friend of Ron's and with (according to Hermione) more fame than he particularly wanted, what with propaganda and legends over his head. Particularly some new hype about "The Chosen One". The seven of them had actually had mixed reactions about the so-called prophecy, but ultimately none of them believed it was an ultimum.

The door swung open, revealing the professor and a tall and lanky boy around their age (though a tad taller) and with a mop of black hair which was even messier than his own. With a quick and rather indirect glance, he immediately picked out three distinguishing features. The lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the bright green eyes (which were rare in Japan, but even then they were nothing like Tomoki's pair), and the knobby knees that showed even with the baggy jeans over it. That was also unusual…in the areas he frequented anyway. That was generally a sign of stunted growth and/or lack of exercise…though there were occurrences where it was genetic. He was assuming it was the latter, seeing as…well, he was nowhere near the definition of "obese". In fact, he could fathom the other was a little skinnier than average…though maybe he was judging against the prototype of Ronald Weasley.

The adults exchanged some words and then two departed: Dumbledore and Tonks, leaving Molly to herd the youth into a chair and conjure up a midnight breakfast.

Kouichi relit his wand and continued his work.

* * *

It was halfway through his second slice of toast that Harry noted the stranger at the other end of the table.

'Umm…' he began. 'Mrs Weasley?'

'Oh, yes dear?' She still seemed a little distracted.

'Who-?'

She smacked her head lightly. 'Oh, right. Harry, this is…' She thought for a moment. 'Kouichi?'

Kouichi nodded. 'Kouichi Kimura. _Haji-_wait a sec.' He shook his head, muttering something illegible to himself, before switching back to English, having been about to complete the greeting in Japanese before a mental check kicked in. 'Nice to meet you.'

'Harry Potter.' He slid back his chair, only for Mrs Weasley to push him back into his seat. 'Likewise.'

'No dear, you finish eating and go to bed.'

Harry took another bite of toast, thinking about the accent. It sounded quite similar to Cho's, but not exactly so. He should know. He dated her for half a year…sort of.

'You're not Chinese, are you?'

'No,' Kouichi replied. 'Japanese.'

'I thought your accent was a little-' He stifled a yawn as the door knocked again.

Both teens sorely wished they weren't in the room as the questions were exchanged.

'Finish your toast dear,' Mrs Weasley instructed as she came back with Mr Weasley, everyone in the vicinity a little red.

'I think I'll go to bed now,' Kouichi said a little hurriedly, gathering up his things.

He couldn't fly into his room fast enough. Luckily, everyone was fast asleep.

Hopefully the light wouldn't wake them, because he wasn't the least bit tired. And there was still another half-night to go. And some more tinkering with runes, Numerology and wards. He wasn't entirely sure why, but Numerology came into the basis of almost every protective ward and spell they cast.


	7. Meet and Greet and a Birthday Bash

**Author's Notes**

Apologies in advance for any spelling errors. I can't seem to catch a moment to proof-read. I can sneak in sentences between other stuff…but proof-reading requires a tad more diligence and the timing's just horrible. I can't re-read Harry Potter right now. I forgot about the mid seems when I loaned out a big pile from the library…and then other ideas are being so stubborn…

BTW, there'll be clashes later on. This is just the getting along phase.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Meian no Tsukene**

He was darkness, but he had light in him, which made him more powerful than the other could hope to accomplish. He felt him, he sought him out for that power, but the other side found him first. And prepared him well.

Kouichi K

Rating: T

Genre/s: Drama/Angst

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Meet and Greet and a Birthday Bash**

Kouichi felt like he had been asleep for five minutes tops before the raised voices of his twin and Takuya woke him up. His instinctive reaction was to burrow his head into his pillow and hope for the disturbance to go away…but he really should have known better. He would have too, if his mind wasn't wistfully staring after the wisps of sleep drifting away from him.

'Would you two please be quiet?' he mumbled into his pillow, a slight edge to his voice.

Surprisingly, it fell silent as soon as the last word was out of his mouth…for a few seconds, but just as he was drifting back off again, Junpei's amused voice sounded in his ear.

'You might want to take that silencing spell off before those two pass out from lack of air.'

With that, the eldest of their six-membered team removed the pillow, illiciting a while from the elder twin.

Kouichi blinked blurrily, and a tad blankly, at Kouji and Takuya, both of them who looked rather comical with their hair messed up, Kouji with sleep pulling at his eyes, and both of them trying to do wordless magic with their wands.

'Seriously Kouichi,' Junpei continued, tucking his own behind his ear. 'What the heck did you use on them?'

'Umm…' Truthfully, he hadn't meant to cast any spells. After all, his wand was safely in one of the zips of his backpack, along with the parchment he'd send off to Japan…once they got replies to their "we've arrived and are safe" letters. It must have been unintentionally…again. Luckily, most of them were entirely harmless. After all, he spent quite a bit of unconscious energy, thanks to his Occulemency training, in preventing any disasters due to accidental magic. That did, as the priest explained, mean his usual control was a tad compromised for the moment, but only in a select few situations. Namely someone waking him up after a measly few minutes of sleep. Of course, if someone managed to get him sufficiently mad (which was rather difficult to do), something similar would occur. But they were normally spells that dealt with the problem quickly and efficiently. Ie. silencing charms when he was trying to sleep.

Funnily enough though, a _Shuuryou_ didn't seem to work. Not when Junpei tried or when he himself tried it. That was one of the disadvantages of _Sui_ elementals. One they were supposed to learn how to tackle more efficiently in their final year (they would also learn some more subtleties about the simple finishing spell to make them more malleable to their needs). As it was, even normal counter-spells required a little extra networking to shatter a spell that a Sui element had cast properly (and successfully of course) or else a great deal of power behind it. Which was why all Sui elements had to learn the counter-curse of spells before learning the actual spell. It was rather tedious, but the end result was that their defences were stronger and more lasting. Those who could manage hexes and attack curses efficiently (a little over half; Kouichi found himself in the other half) also found their attacks more efficient, if not necessarily stronger. Put a _Sui_ student against a _Fu_ element, and the _Sui_ normally came out on top…despite the _Fu_'s better attacking skills. Put them against a _Ka_ however, who specialised in attacking as much as they specialised in a networked defence, and it was anyone's game. It usually depended on who managed to outsmart the other rather than who had the stronger offence or defence…especially since the _Ka_ students had starting learning shadow spells…which apparently _Ku_ elements had a knack of spotting. Unless it was just him.

In any case, by the time he got the silencing spell off Kouji and Takuya, wincing at the sudden noise before they dropped their tones and thankfully left their conversation, he'd lost the wisp of sleep, and with a wistful sigh he regretted that he'd probably be stuck with not getting some sleep till that night. If Kouji and Takuya let him sleep, no doubt something else would wake him up.

He stretched a little, before rubbing his eyes to get rid of the blurs. It had been awhile since he'd pulled an all-nighter and actually stayed awake the following day. One wasn't that big of a deal. But his body wasn't agreeing with him.

'You guys better let me sleep in at Hogwarts,' he muttered.

Now the pair looked rather sheepish, and Takuya trudged off with a parting glare from Kouji.

'I hope we didn't wake anyone else up,' he muttered to himself, before hearing footsteps hurrying about downstairs. 'Sheesh, how early to people get up around here.'

'Jetlag,' Junpei pointed out. 'They're thirteen hours behind us, remember?'

Kouichi blinked for a moment, lips slightly parted, before face-palming his forehead. 'I completely forgot about that,' he exclaimed, before stifling a yawn. 'No wonder.' And he threw himself gently back onto the bed.

'We'll wake you for lunch,' Kouji promised, before departing with his casual clothes.

'Well, Junpei pointed out. 'It was your fault for waking him to begin with.'

'It was Takuya's.'

'It was both of-'

They were interrupted by Izumi, who was rubbing her eyes and accompanied by a far more awake pair of British witches.

'Seriously,' she was muttering to herself (in English seeing as she had company). 'It's only after you fall asleep that you realise how long you were up for.'

She caught Junpei's statements and easily pieced the rest together. 'Did I hear you right?' Her voice suddenly was as sharp at knives.

'Eep,' the ex-warrior of thunder said to himself…even if he wasn't on the end of anyone's wrath.

* * *

'I still can't believe you're _upset_ about your OWLs,' Ron repeated for the uptenth time.

'That's enough about that,' Hermione snapped waspishly, the black eye gleaming in the afternoon sun. Crookshanks shot off her lap and ran for the backdoor as she slammed her heavy tome on the table. Kyuukai, previously under the table, followed silently.

The Japanese wizards simply looked at each other, and Ginny sighed.

'Would you two mind?' she asked. 'I've got my OWLs this year, remember?'

'What are owls?' Takuya asked finally, remembering to speak in English. 'Aren't they birds?'

'Somehow, I don't think that's what they're talking about,' Junpei muttered, but Hermione seemed more than happy to explain.

By the end, the Japanese wizards were glad they only had the equivalent of NEWT exams…and the continuing assessments of course. Somehow that sounded better (and more useful; after all, you got a chance to improve if you messed up in a particular component) than the alternative Hogwarts offered.

'Wait a sec,' Junpei said to himself. 'Am I doing the NEWT exams here or our equivalent back home?'

'You're doing the equivalent back home,' Kouichi replied. 'The subjects do vary slightly.'

'Oh yeah.' He looked at the elder twin, who hadn't looked up from his own book. 'How in the world can you read in the holidays?'

He just shrugged and continued reading the book he had loaned from the brunette witch.

Ron groaned, somewhat comically. 'Another Hermione.'

That confused the Japanese wizards. Some of them anyway.

'So…' It was a slightly transparent attempt to change the conversation, but it worked. 'What subjects are you all taking?'

That topic kept them occupied for awhile…long enough for both Kouichi and Hermione to finish their books and get into a discussion (with mostly Hermione talking) about the more subtle difference between casting spells. Since they were starting non-verbal spells that year, it was an important concept, although many put little stock in it.

That lasted until the others got bored and Ron and Takuya teamed up to drag the others out for a game of Quidditch.

'It's the only thing she's not good at,' Ron whispered, rather amused, to Takuya as they managed to salvage enough brooms between them. Ron, Ginny and Harry had their own brooms. Takuya, Izumi and Kouji had brought theirs from Japan. There was Ron's old broom, and the twins' Cleansweeps, and Charlie's broom for Hermione, Shinya, Tomoki and Kouichi.

'I wish I had my own,' Shinya said wistfully, looking at the worn yet happy Cleansweep.

'You heard 'kaa-san,' Takuya replied…although he wasn't really one to talk with his year old bamboo broom. 'You'll get one next year.'

'I wonder if mine will look like this.'

'I doubt it.' That was Izumi, who was the most knowledgeable on the subject out of all of them. 'These brooms aren't really accustomed to Tokyo climate.'She looked a little sadly at her own broom, which gave off the impression of looking slightly…cold. It was certainly trembling. 'I hope they get used to it soon, otherwise we won't be able to practice.'

'You guys have a team?' Harry asked.

'Yep,' the blonde replied brightly. 'We stake out the school oval at nights. With a few charms, it's right as rain. I play Chaser. Takuya over here plays Beater. Those buggers love him, but he's a handy Chaser too if he wanted to be.'

She took the moment to glare at the brunet, who simply shrugged. 'I prefer whacking balls than catching them.'

'Kouji plays Seeker,' she continued, pointing at the younger twin.

'Me too,' Harry said, looking over the younger twin. He was small enough…but then all the Japanese wizards were a little smaller than he was used to. The twins were exactly his height…which had caused quite a fuss when they had realised. Luckily, he'd managed to avoid the subject of his cupboard.

Ron looked at the unnamed ones. 'How about you guys?'

'Beater too,' Tomoki said. 'But I'm on reserve right now.'

'I'm grounded for the time being,' Shinya confessed sheepishly. 'But anything but Beater. That's how I got grounded actually. Snuck out on Ni-san's broom and got a concussion.'

To his credit, Takuya didn't laugh, or make any move to do as such.

'Junpei's Beater too, but final years don't get a place on the teams since they've got exams and all,' he simply continued to explain. 'Kouichi's Keeper…when we can convince him to play.'

'Reserve,' the other corrected quietly.

'Because you _don't_ play.'

'I live too far away to go there every night,' Kouichi pointed out.

'That sounds like a rather large team,' the black-haired British wizard pointed out, after he sorted out who was who.

'Oh no,' Izumi replied with a laugh. 'There's four different teams, one per element. We've got Fire, that's Takuya and Kouji, Wind which is me and Tomoki, Earth which is Junpei and Shinya and Water which is Kouichi. And then we've got smaller practice teams per year level.'

'That's sort of like our houses,' Hermione mused, glad for the philosophical discussion as that delayed the impending game. 'Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.'

The actual discussion was forced to wait till after the game though, which, when split into teams with Harry, Hermione, Kouichi, Takuya and Izumi on one and Ron, Ginny, Kouji, Junpei and Tomoki on the other (poor Shinya didn't manage to convince his brother to play a role so got stuck with being the referee), although Takuya pointed out he was best at the commentaries because he somehow managed to keep track of everything at once.

'There's a commentary spot open,' Ron said suddenly. 'Lee's graduated.'

Shinya looked at Takuya, who shrugged. 'Since when do you ask me?'

'Since you told 'kaa-san you had nothing to do with me nicking your broom.'

'Which I didn't. Truthfully.'

'And I got grounded, and 'kaa-san told you to tell her when I broke the rules.'

Takuya shrugged again. 'She didn't say no flying. Just no flying without supervision and no games.'

'But-'

'You're refereeing, not playing. And commentating, last I checked, didn't involve you even getting on a broom.'

* * *

In the end, Team Harry won by a considerable margin, but only because Harry himself managed to steal the snitch from beneath the other Seeker's nose. Ginny and Izumi were on par with each other when it came to skill, and Junpei and Tomoki joined matched up a little better than Takuya on his own (all of them playing chasers as Mrs Weasley would have skinned them alive for enchanting stones to act like bludgers). That was okay, because Kouichi seemed to have as good as eye as his brother, and it proved very difficult for anyone to get a second-hand quaffle past him. Harry was glad to see Ron was holding his own exceptionally well on the other hand; perhaps it had something to do with the absence of screaming fans, or else his lack of confidence had been dealt with during the final match against Slytherin.

Harry himself was rather happy to be in the air again, especially since the life-long ban had (hopefully) been lifted. He assumed so as he had gotten his Firebolt back from the dungeons and its rather unpleasant (but thankfully temporary) guard, and he took that as permission to fly again. He hoped that also meant that he was back in the Quidditch team…although he would presumably have to try out again. Part of him though was reminded of the fact that Angelina, the current captain of the Quidditch team, had graduated, as had Alicia Spinnet. In fact, of the team he had joined in his first year, only himself and Katie Bell were left. Which meant that presumably one of them would be made captain.

Well, Dumbledore hadn't given any hints…nor had it been the first thing on his mind. One thing he was sure about though; he was not going to have the same reaction as last year, no matter what.

Last year…

That thought gave him a small pang.

Sure, there were a few plusses to last year like the DA and meeting Luna and Tonks and some of the other Order members…and all in all that discussion with Dumbledore which had given him answers (despite all else it had given him), but all in all it had been his worst year at Hogwarts to boot. At least this year, he thought to himself, no-one would be calling him a liar. Everyone knew now that Voldermort had returned. The deaths, the disappearances, the people acting up…they were in the Daily Prophet day after day, along with all the "helpful" tips to avoid trouble. Seriously, if he followed all that rubbish, he'd get a haemorrhage at some point…which would make Voldermort's life easier undoubtedly, but he'd also probably walk into some trap with more ease than if he hadn't bothered with the defences. That wasn't to say it was all useless though, but their method of 5-steps-to-sealing-your-mind-to-invasion was worse than Snape's lessons on Occulomency…and that was really saying something.

'Yo.' Takuya thumped him on his back, hard enough to almost make him lose his lunch. 'Did I say it right?'

'Yeah,' the other coughed, straightening the glasses that had skewered from the "gentle" pat. He hadn't expected the other to be so…strong. Well, it proved size was no proportionality for power…but anyone who knew Ginny and her Bat-Bogey hexes would know that as well. He'd seen Ginny use it the previous year after all.

Takuya noted the other's reaction, but simply grinned. 'You're all skin and bones,' he commented. 'You need to eat more.'

'I tell him that,' Molly said, passing behind them. 'But does he listen?'

'Of course I do Mrs Weasley,' Harry protested, but his reply fell on deaf ears, causing everyone to laugh.

'What are you laughing at Kouichi?' the brunette asked, poking the elder twin in the ribs and causing him to squeak and catch himself from falling over on Kouji's chair. He almost brought them both down, but somehow managed to balance enough _not_ to do so. Otherwise both of them would be black and blue for a few minutes…and sore. And no-one liked being bruised and in pain, no matter how quickly a healing charm took care of them.

Kouji turned and glared at Takuya, who held his hands up in defence. 'Hey, it's not my point he's ticklish.'

'True,' the other gave, turning to look at his brother, who blushed under the scrutiny.

'It's hardly my fault,' Kouichi protested, despite himself.

'So…' There was a pause from Ron, and then: 'Tell us more about your Quidditch teams.'

The twins exchanged glances, then Kouji sighed. 'Can't we talk about something else?'

Kouichi left the conversation after about five minutes and opened his book again…until Takuya snatched it away. 'Book away,' he added for good measure.

'Hermione would kill us if we tried that,' Harry said.

'Kouichi-nii's too nice for that,' Tomoki replied, before grinning. 'He did turn Takuya's hair purple once.'

Kouichi, whose blush hadn't quite faded, went even redder. 'That was an accident.'

That got them into a discussion of Fred and George's pranks…and their joke shop.

'Cool,' Takuya exclaimed.

''kaa-san will kill you,' Shinya pointed out.

'Drat.'

* * *

Kouichi had grudgedly accepted the fact that despite how tired he was after their early dinner, he still needed his usual sleeping potion, and had taken it and turned in early. So had Izumi, claiming she needed her beauty sleep, and Tomoki and Shinya (the later somewhat forced by his elder brother). Kouji, Takuya and Junpei stayed up a little longer though, mostly because they were used to staying up later due to studying, and somewhat so they didn't disturb Kouichi before the potion took its full effect.

Ron proposed a late game of chess while Hermione conducted her usual ritual of some "light reading" before bed…which after Ron's warning no-one dared begrudge her of. Harry didn't take long to be beaten by a smart play using a castle and a knight.

'You want to play?' the red-head asked Hermione, leaving the board temporarily to Takuya who was fascinated by the moving pieces.

'No thank you,' the female replied.

'Really, losing is good for you.'

'But this is so interesting…'

'Oh, all right.' Ron sighed dramatically, before turning to Takuya. 'Want to play?'

'Sure,' the brunette agreed.

'You can't play,' Kouji pointed out.

'I can play better than you.'

'Guys, enough,' Junpei intervened before it got out of hand. Somehow those two had gotten into the habit of arguing about every little thing. There were times when it went over the top, and he suspected the root of the problem…not that he was going to bring the subject up. 'Losing is good for everyone, and Takuya might learn something new.'

So they played, and Takuya did learn something new. He also lost in even less time than Harry.

Ginny rolled her eyes as Junpei decided to try his luck. He was the chess mastermind in their team after all…although Kouichi typically gave him a run for his money. Sooner or later the guy would beat him, but he hadn't yet, though he'd forced a couple of draws and a stale-mate.

'Why don't you play then?' Ron asked.

'You know I'm hopeless.'

'Play against Takuya then,' Kouji said calmly.

She did eventually, after a little prompting. To say everyone was shocked (except the Weasley siblings when Takuya won would be an understatement.

* * *

Hermione finally put her book down fifteen minutes after the rest of the Japanese had gone up to bed.

'What do you guys think about them?' she asked.

The other three stared at her.

'What brought this up?' Harry asked finally.

'Well…Dumbledore didn't mention anything about an exchange programme,' the brunette pointed out.

'But he tells me things on a need to know basis.' There was still a bit of bitterness buried underneath, even if he did understand the old man's intentions.

Hermione gave him a somewhat sympathetic look before pressing on. 'There's nothing about foreign exchange systems outside the Triwizard tournament either mentioned in Hogwarts, A History,' she explained. 'We know the Triwizard tournament won't happen again for a few years, if it does.'

Silence extended for a period after that as they all remembered

'Although relationships between foreign wizards are now more crucial than ever,' she mused. 'But why Japan? They're about as remote from us as you can get. Entirely different branches of magic, though they share many similarities-'

'Spare us the lecture 'Mione,' Ron yawned.

This time her look was scathing.

'I was just wondering why they're here,' she said, a tad annoyed. 'Why now? If a foreign exchange was to take place between our countries, wouldn't it be safer to send wizards from here to there rather than the converse?'

'Dumbledore probably has his reasons,' Ginny pointed out. 'He's never steered the school wrong before.'

'And Mum loves them,' Ron added. 'I think she misses Fred and George.'

'And Percy?' Hermione asked.

'No way,' the brother and sister replied together.

'Well…' She was a little unnerved for a moment. 'What do you guys think?'

They all shrugged. 'They play a neat game of Quidditch,' Ron said. 'And their English isn't half bad…for a foreign country.'

'It's better than Pleghm's,' Ginny said, a hint of scathing in her tone.

No-one bothered to reproach her, though Ron did look around.

'Looking for her?'

'No, but-' He wisely decided to cut himself off. 'Anyway, they seem rather friendly too. Far better than the crap Harry had to put up with last year.'

'They certainly are interesting, and friendly, even if the cultures clash a little,' Hermione said, a little impatiently. 'But I get the feeling they're hiding something. When I asked Kouichi about the magic earlier, he explained four branches-'

'Skip the philosophy,' Ron repeated.

'Well,' Hermione continued with an air of feigned deafness. 'It's from one of those spiritual systems in the East. I think it was called Godai. They link like a pentagram. Earth is strength. Water is power. Fire is energy. Wind is resilience and Void, or Sky or Heaven, is communication. What's weird is there are only four elements in the Japanese branch magic. When I asked about the Void, he changed the subject. I only realised a little while later he had never answered the question.'

'Well…' There was a pause, then Harry spoke up. 'Maybe he doesn't know the answer. He might have felt embarrassed to admit that directly.' He should know. Snape ridiculed him enough, especially in his first few years. That was the upside of failing to meet the threshold. But seriously, an O requirement? It did seem rather excessive…but then again, everything about Snape's behaviour was. Excessively favouring the Slytherins or ill-favouring the Gryffindors.

'He's probably right,' Ron agreed. 'Not everyone knows as much as you.'

* * *

It hadn't taken particularly long to adjust to the new lifestyle, perhaps because it felt so much like a holiday. True, it took some getting used with all the magical artifacts and all the extra people, but everyone was so friendly and accepting, and they managed to vary between enjoying themselves and helping out enough to not feel guilty about the hospitality the elder twin was showing them all. At first Mrs Weasley had protested against the help (as Mr Weasley was occupied with drilling Junpei for all the electrical knowledge in his brain), but they had all been adamant. Even Takuya who hated chores. And seeing as Harry and Hermione essentially did the same thing every time they visited, she set them to work.

She was thankful for the help too. After all, since the Order had relocated, she'd had a heap more work to do, and while Fleur was admittedly a help, she wasn't sure she quite approved of the sophisticated French woman. Not to mention their ways of managing households apparently varied. As did their tastes.

And they were thankful for the distraction. It was true they wrote home a lot, and they were used to being absent from their parents (except for Shinya) thanks to the digital world.

The sudden birthday party at the end of July had thrown them for a loop though. Firstly because they hadn't known and were suddenly panicking hours before for a suitable birthday gift, and secondly because it was somewhat different to what they were used to.

Not a whole lot different though. The presents…it took a while for them to figure out what could possibly be a good present for someone they'd only known for a few days. And on such short notice. But luckily Ron had taken them all to the village (and Harry for distraction purposes) and they had some spending money (Yen but there was a bank there they could exchange for pounds, and they did have Gallons too).

And then it was back home in time for the birthday bash…with a few extra people. Including a mousy haired Tonks that received mixed reactions from those meeting her for the first time (only Kouichi of the Japanese wizards had met her before).

'What do you guys normally do?' Harry asked, blinking at the fourth bowl of rice shoved in front of him. 'Seriously guys, I'm full.'

'It's tradition to eat a bowl of rice for every year you've lived,' Tomoki explained.

'Seriously?' Then he went a little pale. 'Sixteen bowls of rice?'

'Hey,' Takuya shrugged. 'My grandfather's eating eighty this year.'

'And you have to eat sixteen too,' Shinya pointed out. 'Next week.'

'True. I better get dieting then.'

'It's your birthday next week?' Molly asked. 'Oh dear, you should have told me sooner.'

Takuya tried to retract the statement, but there was no stopping her.

'Is there anything in particular you would like?'

'Oh, no, it's okay. I-' It was a long time since any of them had seen Takuya blush.

'Nonsense dear,' Mrs Weasley said briskly, and that was the end of discussion.

* * *

The next week, Harry watched Takuya eat his way through sixteen bowls of rice…and three slices of cake.

'How can you manage that much?' he asked, a tad weakly.

Takuya didn't answer. He was too full.

'I barely managed seventeen,' Junpei confessed. 'How am I going to manage next year?'

'You're of age?' Hermione asked, interestedly. 'So you can do magic legally, right? You're not bound under the Underage Wizard's law.'

It took a while for the transfers to understand what she meant.

'We don't have that,' Kouji explained finally. 'We're all allowed to use magic outside of the shrine because of the time restrictions we have. We're normally only supposed to at the shrine or at home, but there are circumstances where we're allowed to use it outside. Emergencies typically. The shrines aren't really proper schools. They're more like cram schools.'

'What's the difference?' Ron asked.

'Cram school is just a western way of saying it,' Izumi elaborated. 'It's like extra-curricular classes, further study, that sort of thing…Oh, I'm hopeless at explaining this.'

That left Hermione to happily explain it to her friends.

* * *

**Translations:**

_Chinmoku_ – silence. Jap. Version of _Silenco_.

_Kikoeru_ – sound. Counter-spell of _Chinmoku._

Note that_ Shuuryou _might have worked. It just depends on who cast the original spell. _Sui_'s are very good at multiple spell casting, somewhat of a chain or a spread of spells. What they do is thread certain spells together in their mind (eventually it becomes subconscious) into a sort of lattice which protects any spell they cast from things like _Shuuryou_. From that point, they progress into wards and making those spells permanent, while continuously homing in that skill. It's something that's _Sui_ specific, although there are some people who do it naturally, some British wizards, as well as some people in other disciplines who contain a large proportion of Sui elemental magic (just not the majority). In theory, you can rank each wizard using the four elementals, from the majority/strongest to the minority/weakest. I can't remember whether or not I explained that before or not. In any case, here are the breakdowns (I've put the English names here because it's easier to follow).

Takuya – Fire, Wind, Earth, Water

Kouji – Fire, Earth, Wind, Water

Junpei – Earth, Wind, Water, Fire

Izumi – Wind, Fire, Earth, Water

Tomoki – Wind, Water, Earth, Fire

Kouichi – Water, Earth, Wind, Fire

Shinya – Earth, Fire, Wind, Water

Note that the twins have the middle two elements in the same position. It's just the major and minor that are swapped around. Even though Tomoki has a large proportion of Sui energy, his wind element is more dominant in terms of his element of ice as one of the legendary warriors.


End file.
